LED lighting for the workplace

COST of LIVING CRISIS: The Best LED Lighting for the Workplace

Introduction

The energy crisis has been around for a while now and it is only getting worse. That's why more and more businesses are investigating ways to reduce their energy use, including switching out their old incandescent light bulbs or fluorescent tubes with LED Lighting. LEDs are great because they last longer than traditional light bulbs, which means fewer replacements and waste.

They also use much less electricity, which leads to lower monthly bills cutting down on business overheads. So, what kind of benefits do LEDs have over other types of lighting? We'll cover those topics below along with some tips for choosing the best LED lights for your workplace environment.

How do LED light bulbs work?

LED lamps are a type of light-emitting diode (LED) that produces light when an electric current passes through it.

LEDs are made up of a semiconductor material that emits light when electricity passes through it. It's the same principle as a neon sign, except the LEDs are much smaller and more efficient. When you turn on an incandescent bulb, its filament heats up until it glows brightly enough to create visible light.

This process causes your energy consumption to skyrocket; you lose about 90% of your electricity as wasted heat is produced by your bulb's filaments. LEDs don't have filaments -- they're just solid pieces of semiconductor material so they don't waste nearly as much energy producing light.

Instead, they produce more light for less energy than incandescent bulbs do up to 95% less and because their lifespan is measured in decades instead of months or years like regular bulbs, they'll save you money over time too!

What are the Benefits of LED Lighting in the workplace?

  • LED light bulbs and fixtures use significantly less energy than traditional incandescent or halogen bulbs which will reduce your business’ operational costs by lowering your energy bills, thus allowing for valuable investment into other areas of your business.
  • LEDs have a much longer lamp life than fluorescent or incandescent bulbs with an average lifespan of approximately 20 years, which means fewer replacements and lower maintenance costs, which are all positive impacts on business overheads.
  • LEDs offer high-quality lighting for your workplace, giving workers better visibility with a larger array of colour temperatures to choose from, having the right light levels in the workplace can positively impact productivity, as found in studies into human-centric lighting.
  • LED light bulbs and fittings are more environmentally friendly than their traditional predecessors as they do not contain harmful substances such as mercury and do not give off harmful UV rays. With less frequent replacements they don’t get as exposed to the environment as often as failed incandescent or fluorescent bulbs.
  • LEDs produce about 70% less heat than halogen or fluorescent bulbs because they don’t have a filament inside that heats up as it glows. The absence of heat makes them more suitable for accent lighting in the food industry and especially in the Exhibition Industry (Art Galleries & Museum)
  • They are more durable than traditional incandescent or fluorescent bulbs because the materials used to make them don't break easily meaning. In heavy-traffic industries such as warehousing and production, this is even more relevant as forklifts and other machinery can reach high ceilings.
  • Additionally, as energy-efficient LEDs do not emit heat, they require less cooling and reduce wear on air conditioning systems, a lot of office buildings in the UK have air conditioning as standard. While air conditioning might not be operational for extended periods, maintenance on these units can be very costly
  • Whilst LEDs might have a higher initial cost than other types of lighting, due to their energy efficiency businesses are able to budget future energy costs after a very short payback period. When using conventional lighting industries such as the hospitality sector must factor in running and maintenance costs as they tend to be the bulk of the operational budget.
Office Compliant LED Panels

What factors affect how long it takes for an LED light bulb to pay for itself?

The amount of time it takes for an LED bulb to pay for itself depends on several factors, including the initial purchase price and the cost of electricity. The bulb's lifespan also matters, so you'll have to factor that into your calculations.

LED technology has evolved and continues to do so all the time, listed below are some of the most popular technologies businesses use in their lighting to not only drive further energy saving but to extend the life of the bulb or fitting.

  1. Dimmable LED Lighting: being able to dim a light bulb or fitting is very useful when the required light output doesn’t need to be high. In hospitality, this is crucial in not only creating a warm and cosy atmosphere but also lowering energy consumption thus reducing operational costs.
  2. Emergency LED Lighting: Safety regulations dictate that all office buildings, workplaces, schools, shops, and hotels as such need to install adequate lighting to allow the safe evacuation of building occupants in the event of a blackout. LED fitting can come with an Emergency pack that will illuminate exit and fire routes without the need for installing separate emergency lighting. You can now purchase Emergency LED panels or Emergency LED battens that will work in the event of an emergency even without direct power to them.
  3. Sensor LED Lighting: This is one of the biggest additional energy-saving features available with LED lighting, a sensor in the fitting will turn the light on when presence is detected in the room and most importantly switch the light off when the room is empty. This has proved very popular in schools as a cost-cutting method as students cannot always be trusted with switching off lights when exiting rooms. Different manufacturers might call it either Corridor Function or Microwave sensor, but the technology can greatly reduce energy consumption in lighting. Read more about these different functions here
  4. Smart LED Lighting: This is the most progressive technology and despite common perception, it is not restricted to domestic applications only. Smart technology allows autonomous control of all smart LED lighting inside or outside your building using a single App or through popular gadgets like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections, you can turn lights on or off even when not in the building. By connecting an electrical device to a smart plug or smart adaptor you can turn that appliance into a Smart product and have wireless control.
Warehouse lighting

What is the Best LED Lighting for Business Applications?

  1. Office Lighting: many businesses are switching their office ceiling lighting from traditional fluorescent lighting to either LED panels or LED tubes. Not only do these have an incredibly long lamp life, but they also produce better light output for a fraction of energy consumption. Without the presence of harmful chemicals like mercury found in most CFLs they are the ideal sustainable lighting solution for businesses looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

The LED Specialist have supplied and installed the office-compliant Philips Signify EcoLink Panels in offices, retail, and hospitality businesses because they can be a retrofit replacement for 2ft, 3-foot & 4-foot fluorescent tubes. With a UGR rating of less than 19, they have less glare making it a lot more comfortable to look at a screen for extended periods. Long-term exposure to glare can lead to eyestrain which can cause serious health issues not only for your eyesight.

  1. Warehousing & Factory Lighting: The durability of LEDs plays another significant role when replacing incandescent lighting in storage or production facilities as they are more robust and durable, requiring less frequent replacement. LED High Bay and LED Low Bay lighting is becoming very popular as replacements for high-wattage HID or SON lamps as they have a bright white light unlike the yellow/orange found in incandescent making for a more productive work environment. The Novah Sirius High/Low bay range can be used in extreme temperature environments so can be used in industries such as industrial furnaces, bakeries, clay ovens and metal factories.

The Ansell Topline Evo Non-Corrosive LED Batten are robust integrated LED replacement for these busy environments and with 3 changeable colour temperatures on each fitting as well as selectable wattage output will outperform and outlast and fluorescent fitting. These come with different functions like sensors and corridor function options as mentioned earlier.

  1. Staff & Public Car Park Lighting: The traditional lighting used exclusively in car parks or street lighting has been either incandescent High-Intensity Discharge (HID) or Sodium (SON) lamps using anything up to 1000w to produce yellow/orange light.

The Philips TrueForce Core Road Lamp range not only produce a bright white LED at a fraction of the energy consumption, but their slimline design makes them easy to fit in existing lighting fixtures with either an E27 or an E40 cap without the need for re-wiring.

LED floodlights are popular in car parks these days as the initial cost has gone days since the early days of LED technology and with significantly lower running costs there is now a much shorter payback period. These have been designed to comply with light pollution regulations and do not have the same adverse environmental impact as their predecessors as light is efficiently directed where it’s required.

  1. Cold Storage Lighting: Many cold stores and similar industries that operate in below-freezing temperature environments frequently replace their inadequate lighting due to failure. A lot of incandescent and fluorescent lighting will only work up to just above freezing making them effectively not suitable for use in cold stores and industrial freezers.

The Barracuda Xtreme Cold Store Non-Corrosive LED Batten with 3 selectable colour options and 4 wattage options can operate in temperatures as low as -35°C making them the ideal energy-efficient lighting solution for low-temperature industries. Via a switch on the driver, you can choose the desired colour temperature and wattage output and these IP66-rated LED batten light fittings can also be fitted with a PIR or Microwave sensor in suitable applications.

  1. Retail Industry Lighting: Not only are shops and all businesses in the retail sector benefitting from LED lighting’s energy savings but LED lighting can display products more effectively than incandescent or halogen bulbs. LED spotlights are ideal for accent lighting to bring attention to a product on display with focused beam angles they can bring attention to the products’ detail.

The Philips Expert Colour range with either AR111, GU10 or MR16 base cap has a beam degree ranging from 10° up to 60° so allows the user to focus the light beam where it’s needed. These LED spots also have a high colour rendering index of 97 meaning they will display objects in their true form.

  1. Hospitality Industry Lighting: This is an area the team at The LED Specialist has extensive experience in switching over hotels to energy-efficient LED lighting. From providing sensor lighting in corridors to replacing compact fluorescents with LED battens and panels the savings have been huge.

Decorative LED filament bulbs have proved very popular in creating cosy atmospheres and these light bulbs look good switched on or off. Calex LED decorative light bulbs in a variety of finishes gold, titanium, sapphire blue, and many others will enhance any hotel bar, dining room or reception area’s ambience.

philips-trueforce-road-lamps

Conclusion 

LED lighting is a great way to light up any workplace and save you money on energy bills and maintenance costs. In most cases, there is no need to change fixtures or the need to re-wire and it’s as simple as unscrewing the old incandescent or halogen light bulb and screwing the LED lamp in its place.

Whilst the initial upfront cost might be slightly higher, with rising energy costs the payback is greatly reduced, and businesses are enjoying huge savings in as little as a few months all depending on the size of the project.

Dynamic businesses are becoming more aware of their environmental responsibilities and lowering their energy consumption is one of the quickest ways to reduce their carbon footprint. In this case, reducing carbon footprint will pay off for businesses.

Speak to one of our LED experts today on 0118 9507125 to discuss how we can save you thousands of pounds a year by switching to energy-efficient LED lighting. We will provide a free energy-saving survey for your business and have next-day delivery options available as well as free delivery on orders over £100